Called “a growth engine for worldwide production,” the expansion of oil development in the Delaware Basin is seen as driving New Mexico’s economy and providing the next governor with an inherited $600 million budget surplus.

“It really is a a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” declared Ken Waits, president of Mewbourne Oil, of Tyler, TX, and chairman of the New Mexico Oil & Gas Association. The windfall will benefit infrastructure, services and education, all top priorities of the state’s political leadership, Waits said.

According to the Energy Information Administration, New Mexico’s monthly oil production reached 20.1 million barrels in May 2018.